Glory in Their Spirit

Before I read this book I believed what I had been taught that WW2 and men who served side by side with Black Americans came back to this country and stood up to the discrimination back home and that was how desegregation started in the US. Makes it all seem so clean and with just a little enlightenment everybody sees reason. There was no thought reason or goodwill given to the Black WACs in this book. The discrimination was blatant and was policy and they fought hard not to change policy, but to make these WACs "feel important" while doing the menial tasks so they could free the White WACs to do the important work. Institutional discrimination has two jobs; one is to subjugate a specific group, and the second and most important is to do what ever it has to to not change a thing. "Separate but equal" was still the law of the land. And equal just means a building for both, not that the equality means that the same number of bodys must be in each building or the condition of the buildings must be the same. This book helped open my eyes beyond what the typical textbook tells us and this is a great piece of history to teach this lesson around. This deserves a place next to the Tuskegee Airmen, And never forget the Motor pool we allowed Black men and we allowed white women so Black women can not consider it discrimination if we do not allow them.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. EVERYONE should read this book. This is the true story of four black women who took on the Army in WWII for discrimination and harassment. All they wanted to do was serve. They had goals and dreams. The Army did everything they could hold these ladies back. Anna Morrison, Alice Young, Mary Green, and Johnnie Murphy. These are four names you need to know and never forget. Incredible story! Unputdownable!

Glory in Their Spirit: How Four Black Women Took on the Army during World War II tells the story of African-American service members in the segregated Women's Army Corps. Four women joined WAC to receive medical training and contribute to the war effort; however, they found themselves stuck performing menial tasks, such as cleaning and KP, so they organized a strike to bring attention to this situation. This is an interesting and well-researched book for readers who want to know more about the intersection of race and gender during this period of American history.

Glory in Their Spirit: How Four Black Women Took on the Army During World War II by Sandra M. Bolzenius

Their names were Anna Morrison, Mary Green, Alice Young and Johnnie Murphy. They were Black women serving in the Women’s Army Corp in 1945 in Fort Devens, Massachusetts. They had joined the WAC hoping for better opportunities than what was offered in their homes and more than that they wanted to make a difference. Instead they were segregated from their white counterparts, discriminated against and given positions as orderlies with no chance of furthering their careers. These women went on strike, along with many other women in their barracks, hoping to bring attention to their situations. These four were court-martialed and the case would bring attention down upon the Army from around the country.

Cue the hypocrisy of the United States fighting against segregation and discrimination abroad while segregating their own communities back at home. That’s essentially what this book boils down to. These women had high expectations going into WAC based off of what they were told during the recruiting process, only to have those promises broken and the reality be much worse than they expected. The intersection of being Black and being a woman put these WACs in a unique position. As much as they wanted to advance themselves, the jobs and training offered to Black men weren’t available to Black women. And the jobs and training offered to white WACs wasn’t offered to Black WACs either. Instead the stereotype of Black women was utilized against them and they were put in the same situation of many of the Black women in their respective homes who worked as maids. It’s discouraging to say the least. But the amount of research that went into this book, showcases how discrimination based off race and sex negatively impacted Black women and was effectively ignored.

Bolzenius did an amazing job putting all of this information together and presenting it in a fashion that wasn’t overwhelming and kept in context what was at stake for all of the Black women at Ft. Devens and how this court martial and trial highlighted discrimination and its perception in the Army. Bolzenius told the story in a chronological fashion which really helped streamline events and also decrease confusion. I enjoyed this book and learned a lot about the struggles of Black WACs during this time. One other fact really stood out to me while reading: if Black men and women had been allowed to serve in significant roles throughout the war, it would have allowed men on the front to cycle back home more often and could have drastically lowered death rates, but the refusal of the Army to destroy racial and gender dynamics within its ranks didn’t allow them to fill the roles necessary to make a difference. It’s infuriating to realize the difference that could have been made.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book. It is a well-researched, thoughtful book that brings up necessary discussions about intersectionality and discrimination in the Army and WAC during World War II. Very well done.

Title: Glory in Their Spirit
Author: Sandra M. Bolzenius
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:

"Glory in Their Spirit" How Four Black Women Took On the Army[WAC] during World War II by Sandra M Bolzenius

My Thoughts...

I found this read "Glory in Their Spirit: How Four Black Women Took On the Army during World War II a interesting read of 'black service women during WWII here in America. I also found the prayer very befitting the read especially after reading of this entire read. I will say that this book still made me shake my head at what one had to go through to wear a uniform...still having to give up their seats with other quotes this author presented. All in all Black people in uniform 'wanted nothing more than to be treated as equal by all people. I read this novel thinking even though in the 1940's segregation and discrimination was high with African American women definitely not being equal to well who? I found myself after reading this wondering just how hard it was for these four African American women to be in the service of the 'army [WAC] but not good enough but only to be able to clean after others [working as orderlies] while the white group had no problem.' Why not better jobs since it seemed like these 'four women were good enough to do their part and be able to get in the army[WAC] in the first place?'

Well, all is left for me to say...Look At Us Now! I am not sure I liked this novel at first however after much thought I see that this author did wonderful job writing this story and hopefully it will help one understand what African American women in uniform serving in this US of America Army [WAC] had to go through...so 'GLORY IN THEIR SPIRIT.' Even though in the end we find 'Green, Morrison, Murphy and Young had to chose court-martial over a return to menial duties' which 'helped steer one of Americana's most powerful institutions onto a new road toward progress and justice.' Amen to that!

Yes, I am a African American woman and it cuts in my spirit to what these four woman had to endure in order to serve our country. I find this is a interesting read only if you are interested in what have gone on in the past to what is now going on in the present. Things have changed..thank God for that!

Anyone interested in the civil rights movement or military history should read this book. If you are of a certain age, you will know that the US military during WWII was segregated and discriminatory. However, most of what we know likely focuses on discrimination towards black male soldiers. It was interesting to learn more about the experiences of black WACS. The Fort Devens strike was something I knew nothing about. The story of the four women who underwent courts martial to stand up for themselves and their colleagues is interesting and powerful. These women faced a double bind — underestimated, dismissed, and mistreated because they were black and because they were women. Even the people trying to help them tended to treat them as lesser beings due to both race and gender. I was surprised to learn how popular and prominent the Fort Devens strike was when it occurred and dismayed that it faded away and was largely forgotten so soon afterwards.

A really interesting and well told story with wonderful writing. I found myself thinking about it when I was reading it and raced pack to pick it up.

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting read. I definitely had not heard about this before reading this book. I think it's eye opening and will be especially interesting to readers of Radium Girls and Hidden Figures.

Glory in Their Spirit is the well researched account of 4 female African American WAC (Women Army Corps) privates who defied orders and walked off the job as a way to protest what they saw as racist working conditions. These women were promised an opportunity in the Army to be trained in and receive skilled positions, but they found themselves relegated to the heavy lifting and menial scrubbing tasks of orderlies while the white WACs were given opportunities to train for the more skilled positions in the Army hospital.

The four women, along with 50 other WACs were arrested, but these four women chose court martial over returning to the menial positions. This is 1945 and before the height of the civil rights movement, so there is no real happy ending, however, it traces the pattern of institutional racism that is still prevalent in our institutions today.

This book is not for the middle level classroom, except as a resource, but I think if the women's voices through correspondence home or interviews could have been included (like a multi genre piece), this story would catch the interest of the middle level reader.



A digital copy of this book was provided by Net Galley and the publisher for an honest review.

A powerful and important read, if only to remind the reader that this segregation was not in the distant past but in fact very recent. These women are incredibly inspiring and this book is definitely one to add to your arsenal if you read about WWII. As a Brit I mainly read about the European side anyways, but then added to that, the little US based stuff I read tends to focus around white people. Ah racism. So yes, definitely pick this one up if you want to know about some bad-ass black women helping to save a world that didn't care about them.

This was a really good read. It dealt with the struggles that four black women in the United States of America in 1942 faced in a quest to fight for their country. They wanted to be treated as equals, but even after gaining admittance to the military they were still treated as second class citizens. Anybody who has followed or read literature on the plight of the black citizens of America post abolition of slavery up until the Jim Crow era and even today will know exactly what black citizens have faced and even in the military, while putting their lives at risk to protect their fellow citizens, the were still discriminated against. They were working as medical orderlies in the Lovell General Hospital South. In March 1942 they along with fifty other black orderlies did not present themselves for work to demonstrate against how they, black workers were discriminated against in their jobs and in the Fort Devens military barracks. All bar the four mentioned in this book proceeded to work once they were ordered to do so by the Commander so the four protesters were court marshalled. During the trial, their lawyer argued that they were temporarily insane rather than arguing that they'd been discriminated against. Although the four were convicted of the charges the conviction was nullified and further investigation into the discrimination black members of the military took place. This was so enlightening and highlighted the dreadful treatment these members of the military, both male and female faced.